Conventionally, elevators are provided with a safety gear which is triggered by an overspeed governor. In a common solution, when the elevator speed reaches a limit value preset in the overspeed governor, the overspeed governor triggers the safety gear by means of the same rope which transmits the elevator motion to the overspeed governor. The structure and operation of an overspeed governor of this type is described in U.S. patent specification No. 4,653,612. The overspeed governor is provided with a switch for switching off the supply of operating power to the elevator motor at a speed slightly below the gripping speed of the elevator. In addition to overspeed situations, there are situations in which it should be possible to activate the safety gear of the elevator even if the elevator speed does not exceed the allowed limit. These situations include the testing of the safety gear in connection with the inspection of the elevator. Another situation of this type could be the case where an elevator has to be stopped by means of the safety gear after it has left a floor with the doors completely or partially open.
In the situations referred to, the elevator cannot be restarted before the switch controlling the supply of operating power has been reset. A further problem at present is that the overspeed governor has to be so placed that it and the switch placed in conjunction with it can be accessed during inspection and in other situations if necessary. If elevator has a machine room, the problem is a minor one, but in other solutions relating to the placement of the machinery, when the overspeed governor is placed in the elevator shaft, a separate inspection door is needed to provide access the overspeed governor and the switch.